JAPAN'S RENEWABLE ENERGY

BLOOMBERG - Japan's plans to develop its renewable energy industry are lagging much of the world, as the nation has "prioritized keeping the status quo for fear of change," Foreign Minister Taro Kono said.

Japan wants renewable energy to account for 22 percent to 24 percent of its overall energy mix by 2030, while the global average today is already 24 percent, Kono said Sunday at an International Renewable Energy Agency meeting in Abu Dhabi. "As Japanese foreign minister, I consider these circumstances lamentable."

Japan held its first-ever solar power auction last November, with the aim of reducing costs in one of the most expensive countries to generate electricity from the sun. But the results showed "underwhelming demand," according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Government incentives have been decreasing since their introduction in 2012 following the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster. The support, known as feed-in-tariff, cost the Japanese public up to $24 billion last year, and costs are expected to increase, Kono said.

"We need bold investments and institutional reforms to enhance the transmission network and electric power exchange between regional utilities for the larger deployment of renewables," he said.

There is some progress. Japan is leading research and development in a new type of "printable" photovoltatic solar cell that may lead to further cost reductions in the PV market, he said. A Japanese university has also developed an "all-solid-state battery" for the auto industry, he said. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan plans to transport, store and use hydrogen produced by renewables and provide hydrogen to fuel passenger vehicles and buses for the event.

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Earlier:

2018, January, 3, 15:45:00 SAUDIS OIL TO JAPAN UP 19.3% PLATTS - Japan's crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia rose 19.3% month on month to an average of 1.39 million b/d in November, preliminary data released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.

2017, December, 22, 22:05:00 JAPAN'S LPG UP TWICE REUTERS - Japan’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports from the United States are expected to double in 2017 to a record and account for around for around half of its total purchases, government and shipping data showed.

2017, November, 9, 13:50:00 EIA: NUCLEAR ENERGY WILL UP EIA projects that global nuclear capacity will grow at an average annual rate of 1.6% from 2016 through 2040, led predominantly by countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). EIA expects China to continue leading world nuclear growth, followed by India. This growth is expected to offset declines in nuclear capacity in the United States, Japan, and countries in Europe.

2017, October, 16, 11:35:00 JAPAN LNG INVESTMENT The Japanese government will offer $10 billion to support firms bidding to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure around Asia, the Nikkei business daily said on Monday.

2017, May, 31, 17:35:00 QATAR - JAPAN LNG TALKS Qatar faces rising competition from a tide of new LNG from sources including Australia, which is expected to surpass it as the world's top exporter by 2019.

2017, January, 13, 18:55:00 INDIA - JAPAN COOPERATION India and Japan should co-operate on long term contracts for LNG with a defined cost of energy which would provide a stabilizing factor for the renewable energy thrust that India is currently giving, Indian minister for power, coal, new & renewable energy and mines, Piyush Goyal said January 11 on the side-lines of the seventh India-Japan Energy Forum in New Delhi.

2016, August, 25, 18:35:00 THE LARGEST LNG IMPORTERS Japan, South Korea, and China are the three largest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world, accounting for more than half of global LNG imports in 2015. Combined LNG imports in these countries averaged 18.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2015, a 5% (0.9 Bcf/d) decline from 2014 levels and the first annual decline in these countries' combined LNG imports since the global economic downturn in 2009.